Hello and welcome to the July newsletter!
It’s a new Toastmaster year and so there’s a new committee and a new writer of this newsletter – me! If you were at the last meeting you will have seen our farewell to our Outgoing President Swarajit and met all of your new Committee but, if you couldn’t make it you will find them listed again in this Newsletter.
The club went from strength to strength during Swarajit’s year as President. Bloomsbury maintained its’ status as a President’s Distinguished Club – the highest level of club award given by Toastmasters International. And we also had two of our members, Glen and Janet, representing us at the district contests where they completed against the best Toastmasters’ speakers from across the UK and Ireland.
Clearly the club is in a very strong place and I will be doing my best to ensure we move further forwards in the next 12 months. It is, however, a joint effort with every member able to contribute towards the success of every meeting, the winning of each point towards becoming a President’s Distinguished Club and our (hopefully!) ongoing success at area, divisional and district contests.
If you don’t have time to read the whole newsletter, you can skip to the bottom for a short summary of the main points.
My Toastmaster history
For those of you who may not know me well, I attended my first Toastmaster meeting – at Bloomsbury Speakers – in September 2011. It was at the time Glen was President and his introductory address was so impressive that, before he had even finished his 4 minute speech, I decided I needed to join the club. Fortunately, there was no waiting list at the time and a couple of meetings later I was giving my icebreaker. It was a nerve-racking experience – at one point I felt my knees knocking together – but I took that as a sign that I needed to keep practicing to overcome that fear. I worked through my CC manual which I completed in early 2013 and also joined the committee first as secretary and then VP of Education. Do I still get nervous before a speech? Yes – but there’s a comfort and confidence from knowing that you have spoken in front of a similar sized audience before and it went ok so I focus on that instead.
Goal!!!
No, not the World Cup but it’s a new Toastmasters’ Year. Just as we make New Year’s Resolutions at the start of a calendar year, a new Toastmasters’ Year is a great time to think about what you want to achieve over the next twelve months. This year my goals are both for the club and me personally. For the club I’d like to enable us to incorporate the best ideas from other clubs into how we do things at Bloomsbury. The best way to do this is to visit other clubs and encourage as many members as possible to do the same so we can learn from their way of doing things. Personally, I’m always impressed by speakers who can move effortlessly around the stage. I tend to stay firmly in one place (which evaluators kindly refer to as me being ‘centred’!) as I’m not sure how to make moving look effortless and not contrived. So expect to see me making some clunky onstage moves this year while I figure out how to display my inner gracefulness! What could your goal(s) for the year be?
Upcoming meetings – July plans and a September workshop
We have two meetings in July – on the 14th and 28th and they look set to be action packed with new challenges for our members. On the 14th we have one of our newest Competent Communicators, Rufina, making her debut as Toastmaster and a No 10 Speech for Janet which is her first speech since she came 3rd at the UK and Ireland Speech contest in Dublin. On the 28th, we will have an Icebreaker from our latest joiner and July also sees two of our newer members – Emma and Egor – taking on the role of Topics Master for the first time so Topics Speakers should be ready for any kind of questions!
In September we will be hosting our club Humourous Speech Contest and the winner will go on to represent us at the area contest. In preparation for this we are holding a humorous speeches and improvisation workshop on Monday, 1st September. The workshop will be led by Gayna Cooper who finished second in the UK & Ireland with an impressive speech which many thought was worthy of winning (borrow the DVD if you haven’t seen it). The workshop is already up on Clubplan so register there if you would like to attend.
Events at other clubs
Do you like picnics in the sun? Well who doesn’t so why not attend the Area 33 Summer Party on Hampstead Heath on Sunday July 20th. You can meet members from 5 other Central London clubs, Experience French, St Paul’s Speakers, CASS TM, BAML London TM, ACCA Members Club and our very own sister club Clerkenwell Speakers. The idea is to bring your own food and drinks and the organisers will provide the decoration and entertainment! For further details and to register attendance go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/789783234374707
Tip of the month: Get out there! The wider the circle of speakers you are learning from the more you will learn. Here are some ways to supplement what you can learn at Bloomsbury, no matter how new or experienced a member you are:
- Visit another club’s meeting as a guest either simply to expand your horizons or to give a speech or to be a General Evaluator. The calendar for club meetings is at http://www.thelondonspeaker.com/weblog/london-toastmasters-clubs-meeting-dates.html Speak to Swarajit, Helen or myself if you would like to speak or be a GE.
- Borrow the DVD of the final of the recent UK and Ireland Speech contest and evaluate the finalists’ performances to see what you could learn. Swarajit has our copy of this DVD.
- Look for examples of speeches on YouTube and Ted Talks
- Every Bloomsbury meeting has a member from another club as our General Evaluator. Talk to them about their club and their Toastmaster experiences
- Attend our workshops – the next is on September 1st – as these are usually led by very experienced speakers from other clubs.
When you find some inspiration bring it back to Bloomsbury and show us what you have learnt so we can all be impressed by your skill and we too can widen our experience!
Meet your new Leadership Committee
As promised, below is the full list of committee members with their main responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to get involved – all of our committee members will need assistance with their roles every now and again, so please get in touch if you’d like to help!
| President – Jo Higham | |
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The president has overall responsibility for the successful running of the club by supporting committee members in their roles as well as opening and closing every meeting, writing these newsletters and helping the club meet its goals in the Distinguished Club Programme – and much more besides! |
| Vice President Education – Helen Hosein |
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The VP Education is the second most senior position on the committee and is responsible for putting the programme together for each meeting along with keeping track of the educational progress of individual members and the club as a whole. |
| Vice President Membership & Mentoring – James Hallinan | |
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The VP Membership & Mentoring converts guests into happy members by keeping track of the membership waiting list, inviting an appropriate number of guests to join as new members each month, ensuring that new members have all the information they need when they first join and assigning them a mentor. |
| Vice President Public Relations – Svetlana Rakhimova | |
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The VP Public Relations is responsible for raising the club’s profile and attracting new guests e.g. via social media. They also oversee the team that produces our meeting reports. |
| Treasurer – Rebecca Griffith | |
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The treasurer holds responsibility for the club’s finances. Their duties include keeping track of the club’s income and expenditure to ensure financial stability, paying dues and other costs on behalf of members to Toastmasters International and making sure members pay their renewal fees to the club on time. |
| Sergeant at Arms – Michelle McNicholas | |
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The Sergeant at Arms is in charge of logistics. They are responsible for enlisting others to prepare the venue for each meeting and also clear up afterwards, welcoming guests as they arrive and running the guest introductions section of the programme, organising club socials and liaising with venue management on behalf of the club. |
| Immediate Past President – Swarajit Das | |
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The immediate past president stays on the committee for at least one more year in an advisory capacity, using their experience to support the new president and committee in running the club. |
Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know
- It’s the start of a new Toastmaster Year and the previous committee has handed over to a new Committee who are Jo (President) with Helen (VP Education), James (VP Membership & Mentoring), Svetlana (VP Public Relations), Rebecca (Treasurer) and Michelle (Sergeant at Arms).
- As it’s a new Toastmaster Year it’s a good time to think about your next Toastmaster goal – a bit like New Year’s Resolutions!
- As President my Club goal for the year is to expand our horizons and bring fresh ideas from other clubs and online sources back to Bloomsbury Speakers.
- Our regular meetings in July are on the 14th and 28th – check ClubPlan for speaking slots.
- Join the Area 33 Summer Party on Hampstead Heath on Sunday July 20th.
- There’s a Humourous Speech Workshop on Monday Sep 1st at the Clerk and Well. Book on Clubplan to attend
- The club has a copy of the last District 71 conference DVD which is available for members to borrow on request. See Janet’s speech at the Final!
- Contact membership@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you’re interested in becoming a member.
